Finding community: Vietnamese Students’ Association helps students connect with Vietnamese culture

To many who regularly attend the University of Alberta Vietnamese Students’ Association’s (VSA’s) events, the cultural club is more than a gathering of strangers, it’s a family.

Donna Cao, a fifth-year science student and current co-president of the VSA, attributes this sentiment to a recent growth in membership, the introduction of new events and ideas, and a fresh roster of executives. She added that the VSA is just as much about finding community as it is about connecting with Vietnamese culture.

“We have such an interesting identity since we’re trying to come to terms with our culture back home, as well as really embracing the Western identity,” Cao said. “Really — meeting people and being able to relate to that and the struggles that are associated with it — I think that’s what begins pulling us together.”

In the five years since Cao joined the VSA, the club has grown from hosting a 10-person icebreaker to selling over 150 tickets for their annual phở night, where they rent a community hall and invite students of all cultures and backgrounds to enjoy a night of in-house phở noodle soup and karaoke.

The VSA now plans a number of annual events, such as an icebreaker to welcome new members, Vietnamese cooking workshops, and several fundraisers held in partnership with the Edmonton Vietnamese Association. Their next major event will be the aforementioned phở night in January 2019.

Although interest in events like these was low when Cao first joined, attendance began to increase once first and second-year members started to bring their new friends with them. From there, she said it was only a matter of introducing new events to attract more students.

Cao and other executives also attend VSA conferences held by the Union of North American Vietnamese Student Associations (UNAVSA). She said the ability to communicate with other VSAs allows local chapters to innovate and improve. These conferences are usually held in the United States; however, this year, a UNAVSA conference will be held in Vancouver. 

“When you stagnate your vision, you either just maintain things or they can go down a little bit,” she said.

Regarding the future of the VSA, Cao noted that since the original executives have mostly graduated, the current executives of the VSA are all newcomers with fresh sets of skills and ideas, which she believes will be healthy for the club.

“It’s just really exciting to work with them, see what they have, with the new exec team having new ideas which are fresh and innovative.”

While she’s frequently asked why she stayed with the VSA for so long, Cao said her five years with the club was worth it.

“It’s a lot of work, but really, it’s the lasting impact you can have, and it helps you grow,” she said. “I genuinely mean it when I say the VSA is like a family to me, and it’s nice welcoming more people into that family.”